XP Antivirus

XP Antivirus is NOT an antivirus removal program. It is actually rogue spyware designed to frighten the user into downloading the software. Once downloaded the software will alter registry files, steal private information, and attempt to scam you out of money. These are the common files associated with XP Antivirus that must be removed:

Processes

program_files%\xpantivirus\xpantivirusupdate.exe
xpantivirus.exe
download.exe
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\ntoskrnl.exe
install_xp.exe
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\ntoskrnl.exe.md5
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\explorer.exe.md5
program_files\xpantivirus\unins000.exe
xpantivirusupdate.exe
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\explorer.exe
program_files\xpantivirus\unins000.exe
install_xp.exe
program_files\xpantivirus\xpantivirusupdate.exe
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\ntoskrnl.exe
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\explorer.exe
program_files\xpantivirus\xpantivirus.exe
program_files\xpantivirus\xpantivirus.exe

DLL Files

program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\wininet.dll
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\shlwapi.dll.md5
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\shlwapi.dll
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\wininet.dll.md5
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\wininet.dll
program_files\xpantivirus\sysbackup\shlwapi.dll

If you do not want to remove these files manually then simply scan your computer at the
Spyware Fix home page.

There are sooooo many options out there these days for spyware removal tools. It can be hard to figure out how to separate the average ones from the great ones. These are some of the important features to look for:

Actively updated threat database

A spyware removal tool can only remove what it can detect. And this all depends on the amount of spyware threats in the detection database. You should purchase software from a company that continually keeps their software updated (at least once a week) to detect the latest threats.

Real time protection

Killing the spyware alone is not enough. You have to keep your computer protected from becoming infected in the first place. Along with a firewall you need realtime spyware defense. For Internet Explorer users it is helpful to have an anti spyware program with ActiveX protections. The ActiveX controls are a hole in the IE browser that spyware and viruses can exploit rather easy. You need to fill that hole with an anti spyware program that has real time ActiveX defense!

Stop Browser Hijacking

I’m sure it has happened before. You visit an unscrupulous looking site and suddenly your browser goes haywire with new windows and queries. You frantically try to click out of it but the damage has already been done. Your computer has just been the victim of a spyware attack. Often times we don’t know if the next website we visit will attempt to infect us. That is why you need browser hijacking defense.

I will be updating this blog pretty frequently with the latest news and product reviews regarding anti spyware, anti adware, and anti viruses. Please come back soon.